NCAA News Archive - 2007

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Division III notes


University of Wisconsin, Platteville, Chancellor David Markee (left) commemorates the naming of the school’s basketball court for former Pioneer and current University of Wisconsin, Madison, men’s basketball coach Bo Ryan during a January 27 halftime ceremony. Ryan coached for 15 seasons at Wisconsin-Platteville, leading the Pioneers to four Division III championships.
Feb 12, 2007 9:04:05 AM

By Jack Copeland
The NCAA News

Facilities: The University of Wisconsin, Platteville, honored the former coach who led four Pioneer teams to Division III men’s basketball titles during the 1990s when it formally named its Williams Fieldhouse playing surface Bo Ryan Court for the current University of Wisconsin, Madison, coach. Ryan, whose current team is highly ranked in Division I, attended the January 27 ceremony with his Badgers, which stopped in Platteville en route to Wisconsin’s Big 10 Conference victory the next day at the University of Iowa. Through 15 seasons at Wisconsin-Platteville, Ryan guided his teams to a 353-76 record (including a 157-7 home-court mark through the last 12 seasons he coached in Williams Fieldhouse), and led the Pioneers to Division III titles in 1991, 1995, 1998 and 1999. His 1991-92 squad finished third nationally. “There are a lot of W’s and L’s that were repeated here and columns with numbers all on one side or the other, and we’re extremely proud of that,” Ryan said during the halftime ceremony. “But do you know what? Fifteen years is a small timeline on the University of Wisconsin, Platteville, lifespan. What means more to people is how you conduct your personal lives, what you give back to your communities, and what you want to be part of in the long run. And to me, the University of Wisconsin, Platteville, people are the best.” The Pioneers topped the celebration before a sellout crowd in the 2,300-seat arena by beating the University of Wisconsin, Eau Claire, 61-58. In addition to naming the floor, which the school installed for the 2000-01 season, Wisconsin-Platteville is pursuing plans to remodel the fieldhouse and expand other nearby athletics facilities ... Trinity College (Connecticut) dedicated its new Community Sports Complex — which includes the Albert Creighton Williams ’64 Ice Rink — during ceremonies February 11 in Hartford. In addition to providing an on-campus rink for Trinity’s men’s and women’s ice hockey teams, the new facility serves the city as a recreational facility. Children from the Hartford Boys and Girls Clubs participated in the dedication ceremony along with Hartford Mayor Eddie Perez and Willie O’Ree, the National Hockey League’s first African-American player and later director of youth development for NHL Diversity. “We’ve been waiting patiently for this for a long time, and it is exciting, not just for our men’s and women’s ice hockey teams, but also for the campus community and adults and youth of the Hartford community,” said Trinity Athletics Director Richard Hazelton. A $3 million gift from an anonymous Trinity alumnus along with funds from a variety of other donors supported construction of the center.

Milestones: Dick Peth of Wartburg College earned his 400th career victory in men’s basketball when the Knights defeated the University of Dubuque February 3. Peth earned 172 of those wins at Wartburg after coaching the University of Denver to three appearances in the Division II Men’s Basketball Championship. At Wartburg, he became the first coach to lead to Knights to five straight 20-victory seasons beginning in 2000, and the former University of Iowa team captain also has led teams to three Iowa Intercollegiate Athletic Conference titles and an appearance in the 2001 Division III Men’s Basketball Championship ... Also achieving the 400-win milestone in men’s basketball is Gerry Matthews at Richard Stockton College, whose team defeated Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey, Camden, January 31. Matthews, who has coached at Richard Stockton since 1985, has led his teams to 10 appearances in the Division III Men’s Basketball Championship, including a fourth-place finish in the school’s first appearance in 1987. His teams never have posted a losing season ... Edward “Skip” Noon recorded his 200th win in men’s basketball when Wisconsin Lutheran College defeated Rockford College Febuary 3. Noon, who guided the team to its first Division III Men’s Basketball Championship appearance last year, has been at the school since 1992 ... John Mateyko became the most victorious men’s basketball coach at St. Joseph’s College (Long Island) when the Golden Eagles defeated Mount Saint Mary College (New York) February 3. Mateyko has won 72 games in six seasons at the school.

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